1st time grower, not commercial, planning on growing indoors, in soil without fertilizers… Not interested in quantity… Aims: good quality bud, seed production for future crops… I know there's a few good soil mixes out there (Miracle Grow, Sunshine Mix, etc…) and most of them will say “our mix is guaranteed to provide your plants with all the necessary nutrients for at least 3 yrs… blah, blah…†and I know about the NPK components, so I always look for those on the back of soil packages… My 1st question comes down to the PH: If I use a soil mix, how will its PH vary in time (taking into account the PH of the water I use), how can I measure the soil PH and the water PH, and what are some of the things I can do to control the PH if problems arise? 2nd question: Can I grow decent quality bud in soil only, without fertilizing? Thanx in advance, I really appreciate your guys' advice…
My 1st question comes down to the PH: If I use a soil mix, how will its PH vary in time (taking into account the PH of the water I use), how can I measure the soil PH and the water PH, and what are some of the things I can do to control the PH if problems arise? right,if your only going to water your plant with water your ph souldnt change enough to effect your plant unless your using sea water or something strange like that,second a ph meter,third you can buy alkaline and acidic products such aslimestone and sulphate of amonia to change your ph. 2nd question: Can I grow decent quality bud in soil only, without fertilizing? erm,never tried it my self but cant see why GOOD soil wont produce good bud.i use compost and dead animals(such as rabbits birds posms)in my out side grows,then i give them a good feed of blood and bone fert when they start to bud. inside growing i dont use the dead things for obveous reasons hope that answers that for you.. why dont you want to use ferts?? laters jay. [/B][/QUOTE]
Well,.. (1) First, I'm kind of a naturalist, I don't like to change or intervene in the ways of nature... I look at it like using steroids if you're a body builder... (2) Second, and mostly, for the sake of keepin' it simple because: (A) I don't have much time in my hands... and... (B) The more complicated you make it, the more unstable the process, the higher the probability of something going wrong(PH, nutrient deficiencies, excesses, etc...) (3) I'm really not interested in quantity...
Anyways, thanx for your answer, it's nice to know that I won't have to worry about the PH, if no ferts are used... ...but I guess I should raise the question from a slightly different angle: As the plant drains the nutrients from the soil, does the PH of the soil change drastically enough to raise concern, considering that most nutrients are acidic? (That is, will the PH of the soil increase above critical limits?)
are you intrested in quality though? thats fair enough you want to keep it simple and your a bit of a naturalist. i understand people who use firts and dont flush there plants get headachs from there bud. laters jay.
had a post for you until the server was reading busy, here are a couple of links about soils that people use for grows. im at this time period growing a mostly organic crop. i have one plant at day 26 which should have been recieving light nutes. so far, i havent had to add anything but water because of my ammendid soil. i will see how it goes, so far im happy with the results. here are a couple of links http://forum.grasscity.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=35394&highlight=soil http://forum.grasscity.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33829&highlight=soil
i was only going to say i cant help you there cause i havnt tried it my self but i see dread came through with some links.im going to read those later im abit intrested my self nice one dread. anyway good luck laters jay.
pH should remain the same. watering isnt going to be the determining factor of what your pH range will be. once the soil dries, it going to go back to its original pH range. if you shoot for a target range you want to work with in soil, it shouldnt change while going through the plants lifecycle. if it does change, its usually due to grower errors
OK, I'll take your word for it, thanx. I just wanna make sure, because you know, tap water in different places has different PH's... what's the average PH for tap water, you think? Or shouldn't I use tap water when growing organic? Is there some special kind of water I should use, or should I condition my tap water in any way? I've actually read somewhere about this guy in the Netherlands(KC Brains, owner of "KC Brains Seeds"), who waters his plants with carbonated mineral water... he says "it's direct CO2 to the roots..." What do you think? (Sorry for askin' so many questions, I just like to learn every detail when it comes to growing... and I find it easier to learn directly from people with hands-on experience...)
sup man, i measured my pH with a fish tank pH meter. my water is 7, so im pretty fortunate. you may want to test yours just to get an idea. i dont think it matters overly much what type of water you use, some people have preferences. im not some super scientist and im sure i couldnt tell if a bud was any better from the type of water they use. if the mexican bud id been smoking for years had a better water source, id prolly enjoy the weed better lol, jus doesnt make much sense to me. i do know, i dont think you want to use water with high chlorine or calcium content. they say you can tell by looking at your water spout.
I try to water my plants with reverse-osmosis filtered water. The tap water in my town apparently contains quite a bit of arsenic (but is still in acceptable ranges for municipal water..lol), but whatever, it tastes nasty. And 5 gallons of RO water is $1 at the filtration place I think if you're confident enough do drink your tap water, it shouldn't be a problem.
If you live in the southwest, I guess these are pretty common, but if not, maybe hit up your yellow pages for "water stores" or "ice stores". In Cali I've seen some grocery stores that have filtration machines too. You just buy a blue 5-gal jug, and then pay for refills after that. This might end up being more trouble than it's worth though -- if you're willing to drink your tap water, maybe just run it through a Brita/Pur